2. Blessed

I called Stacey first thing Wednesday morning. She told me that a nurse had offered to take her to see the triplets after breakfast but had decided to wait til I got in so we could go together. I remember my response well,

“No honey, why don’t you head down and see them, I’ll be in soon and will meet you in the NICU”

She was reluctant but said okay.

My Father in law, Frank, drove us in that morning, Stacey is one of three sisters, so Frank is always good to talk to about having daughters. We talked all the way and I was feeling nervous as to what the situation would be when I arrived. I knew the triplets were doing alright. My hope was that their Mum was now with them.

Arriving at the hospital, it was a relief to not find her on the recovery ward. A smiling nurse told us she’d gone to the NICU.

Their first beds, taking up half the ward

We got through the security doors and walked into the ward. Sat between Ava and Lacey’s incubators, with a beaming smile, was my wife, the woman I fell in love with, cuddling Ava.

I got my breath and held back a few tears. She was home. It was like all the fear, all the anxiety, all the agitation of the last thirty-three and a half weeks, plus the stress leading to the pregnancy, left her when she got handed one of her daughters.

The fear was that she would see them and feel nothing. She had gone through more than I could ever understand to bring our children to us. We are now only beginning to talk about the mental suffering she endured. As I write this they are twelve weeks old.

I thank God I could see that all her anger towards me was all from fear and anxiety, That it wasn’t personal, and that I had the faith to trust she would come out the other side. That I only had to stay strong for her.

This was taken around two weeks after they were born. The first time they were all reunited